RS

FRONT PAGE CONTRIBUTOR

Obama Seeks Final Death Blow to Auto Industry

President Obama is trotting out yet another policy aimed at forcing American’s to change our ways and embrace the green. Just a few weeks ago, the administration floated the idea of adding yet more taxes to our already overtaxed cars to serve the dual purpose of shoring up revenues as well as curbing driving habits (which one would assume can’t both be accomplished simultaneously, but I digress).

He also famously demanded more green to come out of Chrysler during the bailouts. Not green as in cash of course, rather green in the environmental whacko dream of tiny cars devoid of style and features. Luckily for the American taxpayer, Chrysler realized how bad for business this would be and promptly ignored the demands of the green police in favor of gas guzzling SUV’s which have helped put the company in a position to pay back government loans.

[T]he Obama administration’s Department of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are quietly moving to make another round of changes to CAFE standards. (That’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy, for those keeping score at home.) The changes would affect model years from 2017 to 2025.

Remember: The important thing is that we are saved from the scourge of Man-Made Global Warming™, not worrying about silly things like jobs and the economy! In fact, as Shaw points out, worrying about jobs and the economy is documented to not be the concern here as shown by the U.S. government’s own report on the impact of increased CAFE standards:

The cases estimate a demand response for new vehicle sales as a result of changes in average new vehicle price by employing a price elasticity of demand of -1. While this measure attempts to quantify the potential impact of the increase in vehicle price on sales, it is not intended to be inclusive of all the potential factors that could affect new vehicle purchase decisions made by consumers. As a result of higher vehicle prices, total new LDV sales in 2025 are 8 percent lower in the CAFE3 case and 14 percent lower in the CAFE6 case than in the Reference case.

I suppose the President is finally showing some electoral foresight as these standards wouldn’t be enacted until after he’s on his post presidency book tour, but if there was ever any doubt that Obama is willing to usher in the green age on the shattered remains of what used to be the U.S. economy, one need look no further than the automobile industry for confirmation.